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An Egyptian-American national detained in the United Arab Emirates after criticizing the Egyptian president and calling for protests ahead of a climate conference there has been released, his fiancée said on Friday.
The UAE government did not respond to a request for comment on the release of Sharif Osman, who was arrested on Nov. 6 and fears extradition to Egypt, a close ally of the UAE.
An Emirati official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Dec. 4 that authorities were working to secure “the necessary legal documents needed to prepare the extradition papers,” without specifying which country or whether the request had been made.
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When US President Joe Biden attended the COP27 meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh on November 11, he posted a video on YouTube criticizing President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and calling for peaceful protests detained after the video.
Othman was released on Thursday and will remain in Dubai until the case is concluded, his fiancée, Saija Virta, told Reuters.
“I was finally able to have a video call with Sharif and he looks healthy,” Huerta said, adding that he was being treated well in prison. “Hopefully we can bring him back to the United States as soon as possible.”
Osman’s family and activists fear his extradition to Egypt, where rights groups say tens of thousands have been detained in a crackdown on political dissent since Sisi came to power in 2014.
UAE officials said the Gulf state “strictly adheres to all internationally recognized standards” in detention cases, including regular consular visits and legal committees.
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